


Stone-Cold Sober

by DisasterBisexual



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst Then Comfort, Echotale, Em x G, Em x G!Sans, Em x Gaster!Sans, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gastertale - Freeform, No Smut, Teasing (Sexual), Undertale AU, angst then fluff, flangst, relationship drama, relationship insecurities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-11 00:16:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15303237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisasterBisexual/pseuds/DisasterBisexual
Summary: Em and G are running from their pasts. All they have is each other. But before they can trust each other completely, they have to learn how to be open with their feelings.





	Stone-Cold Sober

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PansexualSlimeBabe](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=PansexualSlimeBabe), [Emma](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emma/gifts).



> This is my fic for the Undertale gift swap I did with @PansexualSlimeBabe! Em is her OC, not mine. Go check out her tumblr, she makes some really amazing art!! <3

Em didn’t want to believe in ghosts. 

 

It wasn’t hard to talk herself out of it. She had a knack for keeping herself in the dark about these things, and snubbed anyone who called it denial. But one day, she couldn’t find the strength to keep living a lie. 

 

Her past had a way of finding her in warmer months, and July was no exception. Memories trickled down her sleeve like summer rain, and the blistering heat and clouds of dust did nothing to suppress them. No matter how hard she tried to hold them back, they dampened her shirt and bled through the fabric, hot and wet and painful for the world to see. Which was why she mostly kept to herself. 

 

On some nights, as she drifted off to sleep, she thought she could hear someone far away calling her name. It didn’t bother her; in fact, she found it invigorating--it was nice to feel wanted. So, when a skeleton in a leather jacket with one glowing golden eye and no ties to cut practically showed up on her doorstep, she knew it was time to go. 

 

Before he came along, she ached for a better life, a happy life, and when given that opportunity, she took it. She was ready to be free, even if it meant being on the run for the rest of her life. She didn’t plan on spending half of it fretting over people who no longer had any right to preoccupy her mind, though she managed to stomach it one day at a time. That part wasn’t a problem. What she couldn’t deal with was the distance between herself and her boyfriend. 

 

Things were okay before. A little awkward at first, but in the best way. Now, things were different. Colder. It felt like a massive, gaping black hole had swallowed the ground beneath them, making it impossible for her to reach him, or even get close. 

 

Maybe it was her imagination, or the sunlight was fucking around with the chemicals in her brain. But there was no denying it any more; when she felt her bond to him thin and stretch, the old ghosts of her past came out to play. They haunted her mercilessly, chasing the little black car to the ends of the earth and back without breaking a sweat. And she was tired of running. 

 

“You alright?” 

The weight of a hand on her shoulder made her jump, promptly smacking her head on the bedpost with a loud  _ bang!  _

 

“Ugh… I think so, but please never do that again.” 

 

Em rubbed the back of her head, groaning when she felt a large bump. Great. One more problem to deal with. Blinking her vision back into focus, she glanced over at her boyfriend. He was good at hiding his emotions behind a mask, but she knew him well enough to know that the slight flickering of his eyelights meant he was concerned. 

 

The first night they’d arrived in Los Angeles, Em had started showing symptoms of sensitivity to the low air pressure in the valley. Add a hotel room with a malfunctioning AC unit to the equation, and she was positively miserable. Clasping his hand with hers, she smiled weakly as she brushed her hair away from her face. It had become slick with sweat in the summer heat, which didn’t help her current condition at all. 

 

“I’m fine.” 

 

She pretended to ignore the crack in her voice, standing up to get a glass of water. Suddenly, her legs buckled beneath her, and she fell to her knees. G was next to her in a flash, one arm under her shoulder, the other around her waist. 

 

“It’s fine, I-I’m--”

“Uh huh, sure you are.” 

 

His eyelights narrowed skeptically at her obvious farce, searching her face for the truth. But he wasn’t a mind reader, and even if he had been, it’d take much more than simply reading her mind to understand the thoughts racing around like wild horses inside her head. And knowing that he couldn’t reach inside her head and pull out all the answers was what frustrated him the most. 

 

In one fluid motion, G swept Em off of her feet and set her down gently on the bed, grabbing a chair to sit by her. He couldn’t meet her eyes; he was too ashamed of any disappointment he might see there. G had gotten used to not caring about other people’s opinions of him, but Em was the exception. If someone as genuine and kind as her lost faith in him, it meant he’d probably done something unforgivable. 

 

Em, on the other hand, was a whirlwind of emotions sealed away inside a bottle--and ready to burst. Getting the cold shoulder from her boyfriend was enough to send her over that edge, and she no longer cared more about the consequences than getting to the bottom of his distant behavior. 

 

“So, you gonna talk? Or should I pretend to ignore your sulking, like you ignore me?” Her words came out harsher than she expected them to, and she kicked herself internally when he visibly winced, the barb hitting its mark. 

 

“... What do you want me to say?” G’s mask was back on, another blow to Em’s pride. He usually let down his defenses when he was alone with her, but this time, things were different. 

 

She crossed her arms. “I wanna know why you’ve been avoiding me so much.” 

 

G blinked. “What?” 

 

“You heard me.” 

 

“Yeah, I heard you. But uh. What are you talking about?” 

 

Em pursed her lips. This wasn’t the way she had pictured her confrontation going. 

 

“How the hell have I been avoiding you? You can’t avoid someone when you spend all day protecting them! When was the last time I left your side? Because I can’t remember. I’m worried sick about you day in and day out, and what do you do? You yell at me. I’m starting to wonder which one of us doesn’t actually care.” 

 

One look at her face told him that he’d gone too far. His eye lights went dark inside his sockets and he froze, watching a torrent of emotions well up in her eyes. Em felt something cool and wet slide down her cheeks, splashing her palms. Huh..? Was she… crying? She wiped her eyes, cursing when some of her mascara stained the blanket. Great, now she’d have to wash that off. But she wasn’t strong enough to even just get a cup of water, which just made her cry harder. 

 

G stayed silent, uncertain of what to say and too guilty to try and make her feel better. Besides, when humans cried, it usually meant they were overwhelmed with negative emotions. Maybe it was best to wait this out and let her cry, after such a long dry spell. 

 

Wait.  _ Fuck _ . 

 

Em didn’t work that way. 

 

When she cried, it was no small matter. This girl had been through hell and back without shedding a tear, something as small as a lovers’ quarrel couldn’t possibly be enough to send her over the edge. No, there had to be something else. He could feel it in his soul; she had a good reason for feeling this way. 

 

Gritting his teeth, G swallowed his pride and reached out to rub her shoulder lovingly, relaxing his arm when she didn’t push him away. Guilt blossomed in his ribs as he remembered his harsh words. Even when they fought, his instinct was first and foremost to ensure her well being. It was hard to stay frustrated at her when she looked so vulnerable and lost. 

 

“I thought you stopped loving me.”

G looked up in surprise. Em’s voice sounded small and timid, as though she was a child scared of being reprimanded. He gently clasped her hand in his, skin against bone. 

 

“I don’t think that’s possible, Em.” He spoke softly, with a tenderness that made her heart ache with longing. And suddenly, like a roaring river that had ripped its way through a dam, she felt all the pain and sorrow she’d been holding back rush forth. 

 

“I… I don’t understand… you never hold my hand or hug me in public, and you flinch away from my touch… sometimes you look at me like I’m made of glass… and I-I know it’s selfish, and you just wanna protect me, but when you’re distant, it... really hurts…” 

 

Ah. So that’s what she was worried about. 

 

Gently, G pressed his forehead to hers, tucking a damp pink lock of hair behind her ear. 

 

“I’m sorry. I never meant to make you feel lonely. I thought maybe I could spare you from more pain by hiding my feelings.” 

 

“Dumbass,” Em whispered, closing her eyes as she leaned into his body. She clung to his jacket like it was the only life preserver in a storm at sea. He was her rock, and she was his lighthouse. Although they had different strengths, they used them to help each other, and that was what mattered. 

 

G pulled her close, fluffing up the pillow behind her so she could sit more comfortably. She smiled over at him weakly, resting her chest against the scruff of his collar. When he held her like this, everyone else in the world disappeared. For a couple minutes, all their problems went out the window. 

 

“Dammit,” he heard her curse as she messed with the hem of her tank top. There was a small dark stain on the white fabric where her mascara had smudged. 

 

“You could always take it off if you wanted,” he offered innocently. “No one else is here.” Well, no one except him. But right now, he was too focused on trying to make her feel better to realize the implications of his words. 

 

The innuendo, however, was not lost on Em. She pulled it off over her head with a slight air of amused seduction. Now that she wasn’t wearing a shirt, the skin of her torso and chest aside from her bra was exposed. It glistened with sweat as she leaned back into his embrace, sliding her hand under the fold of his jacket to hook a curled finger around one of his ribs. G put two and two together and he began to run his hands down to her waist, cupping her hips firmly when she pressed more of her body against him. 

 

Rocking her weight into his hands, Em’s lips drew back in a smirk when she felt the softness of her chest press up against his ribs. G pressed his mouth to her lips, holding her steady as she swayed slightly in his grasp. She was exhausted, and they both knew it, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have a little fun. 

 

Shortly after, the high temperature cut through the heat of the moment, and eventually they were too tired to continue. Instead, they laid on top of the blankets in each other’s arms. 

 

“I missed this,” Em whispered, burying her face in her boyfriend’s shoulder. 

 

“I know. Me too.” He replied softly. 

 

Neither of them remembered drifting off to sleep.


End file.
